Tag: Best Translated Book Award

None of the 10 authors nominated for the Man Booker International Prize has a book on the 4 longlists.

There are 76 spots on the combined longlists, including the 6 write-in spots for the Typographical Translation Prize. (3 of the 6 write-in titles show up on 1 of the 3 other longlists).

There are 62 unique titles across the 4 lists.

34 of the books are from Europe, 14 Latin America, 9 from Asia, 3 from Africa, 1 from the Middle East, 1 from North America.

France has the most books on the combined lists – 7.

There are 19 female authors represented & 41 male authors.

Bohumil Hrabal has 2 separate titles on The Best Translated Book Award longlist (translated by 2 different translators).

The I Ching translated by John Minford has no attributable author.

Baboon by Naja Marie Aidt, translated by Denise Newman, is the only title on 3 lists – The Best Translated Book Award, The PEN Translation Prize & The Typographical Translation Prize. All 3 are American prizes, which has me wondering whether it is eligible for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize?

12 titles appear on 2 of the lists.

Texas. The Great Theft by Carmen Boullosa, translated by Samantha Schnee won The Typographical Translation Prize and is longlisted for the PEN Translation Prize.

‘Tis the season for Translation Awards. The 2015 Best Translated Book Award, Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, PEN Translation Prize, Man Booker International Prize and Typographical Translation Prize (which has already been selected) – I’ve included the long lists for all five below. This year I thought it would be fun to put them all in one place and compare. Later this week I’ll be taking a closer look… But for now, enjoy!

The two translation prize shortlists are out – and it’s exciting to see how many different languages (and countries) are represented. I’ve still only read three of the books on the BTBA list – and of those I’ll keep my money on Dowlatabadi for the win. There is something so visceral about The Colonel. It’s a book that encompasses all the senses – particularly in the opening chapters when the colonel is summoned to bury his daughter. The darkness, the rain, the smell of cigarettes – the density of the prose – they’re all still with me though it’s been months since I put it down. Not every book does that. Certainly not The Hunger Angel or The Planets – both good books by great authors. But they don’t even come close to The Colonel in scope, technique or plot.

As for the IFFP: neither of the two books I read on the long list – HHhH and Black Bazaar – made it to the short list. I’m not surprised, though I think the judges are undervaluing how hard it is to write like Alain Mabanckou writes and make it look easy. Even in translation. Regardless, as a result I don’t have anything to contribute to this particular short list other than that Ismail Kadare is one of my favorite authors.

The 2013 Best Translated Book Award longlist contains 25 titles. In the coming weeks the Three Percent Blog will feature a review for every title that made the longlist, everyone interested in the prize should check it out. Currently I’ve read and reviewed three of the books nominated and am familiar with and/or plan to read five others.

Of the three books I’ve read: I loved My Two Worlds (published in 2011 by Open Letter) and am looking forward to Chejfec’s next book, The Dark, due out later this year. But the things I loved about My Two Worlds – the meandering nature of the prose reflected in the landscape of the park through which the narrator walks, being trapped in another person’s head, the hints at a story that never fully resolves itself – didn’t work as well in The Planets. Perhaps my expectations were set too high… I just didn’t enjoy it as much. I don’t expect it to make the shortlist. The same for Herta Müller’s The Hunger Angel. While the writing is beautiful, I’ve heard it’s not her best book and when put head-to-head with the other longlist titles I’m not sure it will move forward.

If I were to vote for one book to win at this point it would be The Colonel. Fantastic, challenging, amazing. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a significant book.

As for the rest of the list:
I attended a reading with Noëlle Revaz for With the Animals at last years’ PEN World Voices Festival in New York City. It was torturous. There was a translator who was there to translate the author’s answers to questions and to read from the book, but she wasn’t given her own microphone. The result was that most of the event was in French, the attempts at translating were labored and slow, and the whole thing was just painful for the audience members who only spoke English. The highlight came when a woman in the audience screamed parts of her questions/observations in French. I kind of vaguely remember her dropping the F-bomb a few times. Obviously, this has nothing to do with With the Animals being long- or short-listed – yet even that tenuous connection has me buying a copy to see what it’s about.

I’ve ordered copies of Atlas and The Map and the Territory (the UK edition which I’ve heard is covered in bubble wrap!) and am looking forward to reading them both asap. I’ve also heard good things about both Satantango and Maidenhair and expect both to be shortlisted – which means there’s a little more time to get to them.

That’s all I’ll be able to get to before the shortlist comes out.

If you’re looking for more news and conversation regarding the Best Translated Book Award, there’s a discussion happening at The Mookse and the Gripes free forum. Also, the most recent episode of the Three Percent Podcast discusses all the longlisted titles. Do you have a favorite for the prize?

*Well, actually – my initial reactions was “For F$#@ sake, they could only get it down to 25 books???!”

What’s the verdict, readers? Pleased? Disappointed? Just confused? I wish I could speak to these lists more, but all I can say is that I’m glad to see that both Umberto Eco and Sjón moved on to the next round of the Foreign Fiction Prize. SO…

I have a proposition: If you’ve read any of the books shortlisted for either prize, tell us what you think in the comments below. If you’re a blogger and have a review up for one of the finalists, leave the link. Or, if you’re in that kind of mood, feel free to bitch about your favorite book being overlooked.